Henry g



(No Model.)

H. G. STORES.

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC SIGNAL.

No. 533,183. Patented Jan. 29, 1895.

Witnesses Unwrap STATES PATENT Orrics.

HENRY C. STORES, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-IIALF TOEDXVARD R. FAXON, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 533,183, dated January29, 1 895. A plication filed April 20,1894- Serial No. 508,254. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY C. STORES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Electric Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic electric signals or alarms, and hasspecial reference .to circuit-controllers therefor.

The object of my invention is to provide in connection with the adjacentterminals of an electrical-circuit, a simple and effectivecircuit-closer or circuit-maker embodying a sevr 5 erable-member orhold-back connection capable of being severed or of having its holdingqualities reduced when subjected to the action of heat, or in somecases, when subjected to the action of fluids.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a front view of a circuit-making device embodying myinvention, said circuit-maker being shown in connection with theterminals'of an open circuit, and in its normal open position. Fig.

2 is a side view of the same drawn in projection with Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa plan View of the same drawn in projection with Fig. 1. Fig.

at is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the cir- 0 cuit-maker in itsclosed position. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of one form ofhold-back or severable member of the circuit-maker,

the two parts of said member being shown connected together by a fusibleor soluble connection. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the hold-back inits separated condition. Fig. 7

is a detail view in perspective of another form of severable member forthe circuit-maker,

said figure illustrating a one-piece hold-back 4o constructed of afusible or soluble material.

Similar characters designate like parts in all of the figures.

In the preferred form of my invention, herein shown and described, thecircuit-con- 5 troller comprises, in combination with two circuitterminals, a switch controlling said terminals, and a hold-back devicefor said switch, which hold-back embodies two members located one withinthe other and movable 5o longitudinally relatively to each other, and afusible, or soluble, sealing medium which fills the space between thecircumjacent or corn centric surfaces of said two members and nor mallyconnects the same, but is adapted to be reduced or dissolved to throwthe switch 5.5 from one of its positions to the other, as will behereinafter fully described.

In the drawings, B represents a convenient form of base, or support, forthe several parts of the device. The electrical terminal, 2, which mayextend to any suitable signalingapparatus, or annunciator, is hereinshown as terminating in a contact-point, 3, which is fixed to the base Bat one side thereof by means of the screw 4. The opposite electricalterminal, which may lead to a suitable battery, is herein shownterminating in a springarm or switch,5, secured at one end to the base Bby means of suitable screws, 6.

The free-end 5 of the spring-arm 5 termi- 7o nates at a point in closeproximity to the contact-point 3 of the terminal 2, as shown in Fig.

1, it being normally held out of contact with the terminal 2 by means ofa reducible or severable hold-back connection, designated in a generalway by H, which is shown in said figure as connected at one end, at 7,with the free-end of the spring-arm 5, and at its opposite end to afixed point, 8, upon the base. It

is desired to state in this connection, that any suitable form ofmovable electrical-terminal might be employed other than that shown inthe drawings, as, for instance, the movable terminal 5 might be in thenature of a hinged or weighted arm located above and be held normallyout of contact with the terminal 2 by the severable holdback H.

To insure a sliding contact between the spring-arm 5, which constitutesone of the electrical terminals, and the contact-point 3,

which manner of making the contact is desirable in apparatus of thisclass, the contactpoint 3 is herein shown in the nature of a bracketsecured to the base 13 and having two remotely-disposed depending andpreferably 5 resilient arms adapted for engaging, with a yieldingpressure, the side edges of the springarm 5, as this comes in contactwith said arms; said spring-arm being of a width substantially equal tothe distance between said bracket arms, and, when released through thesevering of the hold-back I'I, having asliding movement between and incontact with said arms.

The reducible or severable connection or hold-back,in the form thereofshown in Figs. 5 and 6, consists of two parts, 9 and 9, one of whichengages in some suitable manner, as by the hook and eye shown, theworking-end of the movable electrical terminal, and the other of whichengages the fixed point or support 8 upon the base B. As shown in Figs.5 and 6, the two adjacent ends of the parts 9 and 9' of the severableconnection are shown of spiral form and of different diameters wherebyone spiral may be inserted within the other in the manner shown in Fig.5. When this form of hold-back is employed, the two coacting ends, 10and 10', of the parts 9 and 9 of said holdback will beseverably-connected together by being embedded in a mass or globule, 12,of sealingwax or any sensitive substance adapted to be melted or reducedsufficiently to destroy the effective continuity thereof when subjectedto a moderate degree of heat, or, in some cases, adapted to have itscontinuity destroyed by the action of moisture.

In Figs. 5 and 6 the connecting ends of both parts 9 and 9 of theseverable hold-back or connection, are shown of spiral form which ispreferable as the interlocking engagement of the sealing-material isgreatly increased and the fastening of the two parts together made moresecure except when subjected to heat or moisture as aforesaid. It willbe ob vious, however, that other forms of sealed-severable connectionsmay be used without departure from my invention. In the form ofconnection shown most clearly in Fig. 6, the spirals at the adjacentends of the parts 9 and 9' will be wound in opposite directions whichwill obviate any accidental interlocking of one part with the other whenthe continuity of the sealing material is destroyed, allowing the twoparts to be drawn freely apart.

It will be understood that the adjacent ends of the parts 9 and 9 may beof other forms than that illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 to producelaterally-disposed holding-faces adapted for engaging and holding themass or globule 12 intact under ordinary conditions. Therefore I do notdesire to limit myself to a holdback consisting of two members havingspiral holding-faces.

The word reducible as applied to the hold-back has reference to thereduction of the holding material, by heat or liquids, of which saidhold back is composed either wholly or in part, from a normal state ofcontinuity or rigidity to a state of non-continuity or flexibilitywhereby the terminal to which said hold-back is connected will be freedto effect a contact with the opposite terminal.

The composite structure of hold-back device illustrated in Figs. 5 and6, consisting of the two metallic parts 9 and 9, and the non-metallicseal connection 12 in which the ends of said parts are embedded in themanner shown in Fig. 5, is the preferred embodiment of my invention. Inthis form of hold-back it will be seen that the adjacent ends of the twomembers 9 and 9 are connected together by the sealing material in suchmanner that the ends of the two members while they are, substantially,parallel are held remote from each other, a mass of sealing materialbeing interposed between the adjacent sides of the two members. Thisrelative disposition of the two members is of material importance, inthat each member has a greater heat-radiating surface contiguous to thesealing material than if one member was contiguous to and overlapped theother member. In the form shown in Fig. 5 it will be seen that thesealing material entirely surrounds one of the members of the hold-backand that said sealing material is contiguous to the entire inner surfaceof the other of said members, and these two members being metallic andconsequently good conductors of heat, rapidly absorb the heat and conveyit to the interior of the sealing mass, quickly softening and breakingthe continuity of said mass. Owing to the remote disposition of the twomembers which secures the maximum effective heat-radiating surface, thereduction of the sealing mass intermediate to the two members is greatlyaccelerated as the heat from each heat-conducting member is distributedeach side of said mass and directed toward the center thereof. In somecases it is preferable to make the outer coil of one of the parts of thehold-back device of barrel-shape, in which case the inner coil will bemade small enough to readily pass through the end of the outer coil asillustrated in said Figs. 5 and 6. This construction provides for theapplication of a larger mass of sealingavax, and also protects the wax,preventing it from being eaten out by mice or otherwise destroyed.

In practice, I find that by means of a sealed severable connection suchas herein described, the sealing material may be tempered so as tooperate with substantial uniformity at a temperature as low as 130 01'may be made to operate with the same uniformity at a much higher degreeof temperature. Instead of sealing-wax, metallic alloys havinglow-melting points may be substituted as a suitable material for theseverable hold-back device.

In operation, the parts are normally held in the position illustrated inFig. 1, the movable terminal 5 being held out of contact with theopposite terminal 2 by means of the severable hold-back H. In case offire (when the apparatus is used as a fire-alarm) the continuity of thejointl2 will, when the temperature of the air reaches a certain degree,be destroyed, allowing the separation of the two parts 9 and 9 of saidhold-back, which allows the spring-arm 5, which constitutes the movableelectrical tor-- minal, to come into contact with the opposite terminal,completing the electrical circuit and sounding the alarm.

My device is applicable for use in many places, as, for instance, it maybe used to ad- ICO vantage in connection with an alarm in hotels,stores, dwelling-houses, and other places for sounding an alarm in caseof fire, or it may be used to advantage in connection with an alarm uponboats or vessels for sounding an alarm in case of leakage.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The herein-describedautomatic circuitcontroller for electric circuits, comprising twocircuit-terminals; a switch controlling said terminals; and a hold-backdevice for said switch, embodying two members located one within andwholly surrounded by the other and movable longitudinally relatively toeach other when held against lateral movement, and a fusible or solublesealing medium filling the space between the circumjacent surfaces ofsaid members and normally connecting said members, substantially asdescribed.

2. The herein-described automatic circuitmaker for electrical signals,it consisting of two electrical terminals, one of which has acontact-point with remotely-disposed arms adapted for engaging thecontact-making arm of the adjacent electrical terminal, and the otherelectrical terminal of which has a con tact-making arm in position andadapted for entering between the two arms of the aforesaidcontact-point, and a severable hold-back fixed at one end and connectedat its opposite end to the free end of the contact-making arm andcomposed of two members having spiral ends joined together by a mass offusible or soluble material, substantially as described.

3. The herein-described hold-back for circuit-closers, it consisting oftwo metallic holding and heat-conveying members having spirally-formedadjacent ends embedded in a mass of non-metallic sealing material of afusible or soluble nature, substantially as described and for thepurpose set forth.

4:. The combination with two adjacent terminals of anelectrical-circuit, of a severable hold-back connected with one of saidterminals, it consisting of two members having two oppositely-spiraledconnecting ends located one within the other and secured together by amass of fusible or soluble material, substantially as described and forthe purpose set forth.

HENRY O. STORES. Witnesses:

EDWARD R. FAXON, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS.

